Ex-DOD Official Turned Down Trump Job Because of ‘Values and Policy Positions’
Ex-DOD Official Turned Down Trump Job Because of 'Values and Policy Positions' by Rebecca Kheel – The Hill
The former Pentagon official who was widely expected to become Defense secretary had Hillary Clinton won the election said Monday she turned down an offer to work in the Trump administration because she didn’t think her positions aligned.
"I am an enormous admirer of Jim Mattis,” Michèle Flournoy, CEO of think tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS), said on MSNBC about the current Defense secretary. “And when he reached out to me, I certainly wanted to do whatever I could to support him. But I didn't think my own values and policy positions were aligned enough to serve in this administration.”
From 2009 to 2012, Flournoy was undersecretary of Defense for policy, the third-highest ranking civilian at the Pentagon.
It was widely anticipated Clinton would tap her for Pentagon chief had she won.
In December, Flournoy met with Mattis after he had been named the nominee for Defense secretary, leading to speculation Mattis wanted her for one of his deputies.
CNAS put out a statement a couple days after the meeting saying Flournoy had no plans to join the Trump administration.
But in February, she confirmed Mattis offered her a job…
